Château du Pin sits in the fertile Loire valley in western France. It’s the kind of European countryside dreamscape you only see in movies. The exquisite architecture and extensive gardens have been lovingly cared for and preserved by generations of the same family over more than a century, through wars and occupations, changing fortunes, good times and bad. To this day the house stands strong, and the family has opened it up for visitors to experience. To have any involvement with this magical place at all is purely good fortune, and I could not be more grateful for the opportunity.
I was asked by a friend of a friend who happens to be a part of this amazing family to help with a logo for Château du Pin to support their marketing efforts in attracting visitors to the location. In a place where there’s something beautiful to look at everywhere you turn, it’s pretty easy to find inspiration. We decided to focus on the towers of the house and the gardens, specifically the magnificent topiaries that remind me so much of dancing ladies.
The final logo features both the house and the garden in a simple and elegant way. The color scheme draws from the landscape with muted greens and pinks and bright pops of yellow, like you might find in a garden or an atmospheric landscape painting.
Left: The final primary logo in one of several color schemes we developed for the project. Striking the right balance of detail without getting too busy was key.
Right: Secondary logo (top) and submarks, because you will always need different logo configurations for different applications. Do you see the dancing ladies?
The mood board for this project aimed to weave together architecture and gardens with an atmospheric, organic feel. Soft colors are a nod to nature and the many natural building materials found throughout the buildings.
Sketches! There were so many sketches, but here are a few. Part of the house and the topiaries are shown in the photo above (courtesy of Château du Pin), and this progression of sketches shows some of the ways I tried to capture the iconic architecture and landscape.
Here are a few unused concepts, but you can see how we ultimately combined elements from each of these in the final design.
